Retort burner



jufly 16 13. T. W. HUNTER RETORT BURNER Filed March 27, 1955 IN V EN TOR. THOMAS W. HUNTER BY ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 16, 1935 2068.119 1*} an'ron'r Bunsen Thomas W.-'nunter,iasa&ena, (fiajuhf Application March 27: 19sasriiiNo. sea-977 f '3 cas s. (Cl. 158 6i'6) f This invention relates to aburner, and par-1. ticularly pertains to a retort fuel burner; i..:

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a fuel burnercof simple and compact construction and which utilizesrelatively inexpensive liquid fuels and bringsta'b'out' theircombustion in amanner to insurefithat maximum amount of heat canbe obtained'from the burner and can be created-over a maximum area without the formation of smoke or the for mation or deposit of soot, said. results being ancomplished by a simple burner structure which does not require continued attention 'or. constant care and regulation and which in fact does not require that the burner be maintained inia true vertical position. L. i-

The present invention contemplates the ro: vision of a main burner. bowl, a. diffusing. shell disposed therein to distribute the liquid. fuel 20 evenly around .its entire circumference, and a combustion ring by which a supply of air is mixed with Vapors before reaching the combus tion chamber, and, which'ring'will alsdaetto direct the course of the flames resulting from the. 5 combustion and protect the flame from being ex; tinguished by any excess draftwhich might oc v curintheburner. i .1 The invention ,is illustrated byway-of ex ample in the accompanying drawing, in .which:. 30, Figure 1 is a view and plan showing the com plete burner with which the. present invention is concerned; i 2 Figure 2 is a view in transverse central vertical section through the burner asseen on the line 3; 2+4 of Figure 1; and I J Figure 3 is a. view inside elevation showing the burner assembled with a flue and with parts of the flue broken away for convenience.

' Referringmore particularly to the drawing,..lll 40 indicates a liquid fuel' supply pipe which projects horizontally into a threadedbos'sll "of a burner bowl l2. This bowl is in the formijof. a conical shell having a downwardly and inwardly inclined base 13 converging at the'apex fthe 45. bowl in a fuel well M. The, upper androute'r marginaledge of the burner bowl l2 isrormea with an outwardly and upwardly flaring :lipl5 overwhich a supply of air passes in a manner to be hereafter described. Positionedwitliin the 50 bowl is a diffusing shell or cone 16; the outer face of which substantially. agrees with the innerface' 13 of the bowl I2 but is spaced there from by a plurality of ribs l1. These ribs are attached :to-the outer'face of cone lfisandwex 55 tend longitudinallyofthe face: in substantially unbroken from a point just above the upper rim of well [4 to a point where they'rest snuglyragainst the inner face of the bowl l2. These; ribs H/are uniformly spaced around the circumference'of the correiand are preferably 5: space close-together to obtain maximum efiicienoy, the space It between the outer face of the cone l6 and the inner face H! of the bowl l2 thus provides a series of longitudinal grooves or passagewaysfor the vapors. The principal 10 purpose of these ribs is to confine the fuel vap'ors;- being generatedin the bowl, in such a man:

ner asto compel the vapors to travel upwardly along the courses defined by the passageways l8: occurringwetween the ribs 11 and to thus pre- 15 vent the vapors from drifting from their course as might' otl lerwvise be the case if the burnerstructure assumed a position out of plum. I This construction :insures a u'ru form now of vapor to every or the entire circumferential length of fuel throatilywhether the burner is level or 'mreidi'ameter of the base portion I9 ofthe cone l6 is'somewhatlless than the diameter of a vertically-walled counterbore 20 which occurs around the upper opened end of the burner. These differences in diameter cause anannular feed-space 21 to be formed between 'the edge of the base l9 and the face 20 of the bowl l2 and through which space liquid fuel is fed into the air throat 3| and thence into the combustion whl'chi's thespasc'e occurring between the base portion l9 and an annular tubular flange 32 projecting: man the top of cone I 6.

chamber further deiined by the lower ends 35 of'tethilonring 26-. The base IQ of the shell lies 'inw plane substantially at right angles to the iiqifid ruel throati 21 and-is formed with an annular: tubular flange 22. flange pr'ojectls vertically from a lane of the base is and 40 oircumsoribes a; generating or priming well 23. sup orted above the outwardryfiaring lip l5 of the bowl 1! a a ring 24 which has an inclined portion ifl aihd a vertically extending lip at its upper end as indicated title to whichis attached a one pipe 40 indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing which pipe it is customar to provide to give" the required crest to aburner of this of the ring" extends downwardly and inwardly and overhangs the lip 15 or the bow- 1.-

angle oi the under face of the portion 25 is slightly greater relative to the horitontai than the" angle of the face of the iip fl't, th%rorm1n an annular inwardly aim adwnwar dry eon-verging throat through which. air passes directly over fuel throat 2| and. base i9 of the shell I6. Resting upon the upper face of the inclined portion 25 of ring 24 is a combustion ring 26 which has an upwardly and. outwardly flaring portion overlapping the inclined portion of ring 24 and projecting downwardly through the central opening of ring 24 where it is formed with a cylindrical face substantially fitting the opening in the ring, the angle of the lower face 21 of the combustion ring substantially agreeing with fth'ean'gle of the portion 25 of ring 24 and is" a continuation thereof. Extending downwardly from the face 21 of the combustion ring 28 is a plurality of radial vanes or teeth 28 which are tapered in thickness toward their lower end, and the lower edges of which as indicated at 29 are inclined to face of the lip i5. The outer vertical edges 3|] of these teeth are substantially in vertical alignment with, the outer. circumferential edge of thefuel throat 2|..as..defined by the. face 20 of the. The vanes 28 thus act to. divide the.

fuel bowl l2. air which might travel into the air throat 3| between thelip' l5 and the face 25. of ring. into a plurality of radially moving streams or jets which are :directed downwardly; and: inwardly across the fuel throat 2 i. The vanes v28 willalso act to prevent the. fuel vapors. from igniting at the throat 2|.. They act to create. asmall eddy current at the lower end of each vane which acts asv a pilot or tongue. of. flame slightly protected from the main force of thedraft and'thereby prevents the fiamefrom being blown out by the draft. The vanes make itpossible for a large volume supply of airto be delivered to the burner in an unrestrictedmanner until-it haspassed across. the fuel throat after which the air will be divided intojetsfhaving ai greater. velocity.

This preventsback burning of the fuel vapor at or outside of the fuel throat. 1 "I 'he'action of the air passing in through the spaces between the.

32 through which screws 33 extend and by which the members are held in their. assembled.posi. tion. These screws are the only fasteningelements required in. the burner, since the other parts are readily nested togetherand may be instantly separated for cleaning or" other purposes.

In operation ofthe .presentfinvention a.con-= stant supply of liquid fuel isdeliveredito the burner through the pipe I0. Thisisupply may be regulated by any suitable manual or auto-' maticallyco-ntrolled regulating means. The liquid fuel will fill the Well 4;and. then partially fill the spaee'ltl between the bowl and the shell l6 where vaporization-will take place. The fuel will thus flow upwardlyaround the shell i6 and into the annular fuel throat 2|, which .throat extends in an unbroken line entirely around the burner. The burner may be ignited byplacing combustible liquid or other materials within the priming cup 23 of the shell, l.6,k after,which a draft will be created to draw air inwardly through the air throat 3I'and downwardly over the fuel nularflame will be created entirely around the vertical flange 22 of the shell IE. This arrangement insures that a maximum heat efliciency may be obtained by the use of low grade oils which are commonly considered undesirable for perfect combustion but which have decided advantages due to their availability andcheap- 'ne'ss. agree substantially with the angle .of the. upper The upper edge of the bowl I 2 and the ring members 24 and Y26 will provide an annular throat which leads inwardly and downwardly across the annular orifice 2|. This orifice or fuel throat occurs between the wall of the bowl .proper combustion and that insures ignition oi the fuel will continuously take place, the throat occurring between the bowl of the burner and the ring 26 is divided circumferentially by a plurality of radial teeth. These teeth are shown as having appreciable width so that an air inlet throat of the burner will in effect be divided into. a plurality of radial passageways through whichair may flow inwardly and intermediate spaces occupied by the teeth. The result will be that the air passinginwardly between the teeth will in effect form jets between which relatively dead air spaces will occur as substantially represented by the cross sectional area of the teeth 28. The collective cross sectional area of the teeth diminishes the open space of the throat through which air may flow and. thereby reduce the volume of air, while the provision of the teeth having an appreciable sectional area tends to. shield. the space atthe inner ends of the.

teeth and tends to create a dead air space be tween the inflowing jets of air. In theselspaoes the fuel vapor willburn without being extin guished, and with a combustion which i'nsmes that the parts will be maintained clear andfree of carbon. 1 V It will also be evident that the device here disclosed is 'quite simple in construction, may be readily assembled or dismantled, and will operate with efliciency to supply heat to' a rela tively'large area. i a While I have now shown the preferred form'of my inventiomas now known to me, it will be'understoo'dthat various changes may be made in combination, construction, and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art without depart ing from the spirit of my invention as claimed. Having-thus described my invention, what'I claim and desire to'secure by Letters Patent is:--

. 1. 'An oil burner of the retort type'comprisinga bowl, a cone nested within thebowl'and spaced therefrom, said bowl and cone forming a'circumferentially extending orifice in a horizontal plane aldjaoent' the mouth of the bowl, means for delivering liquid fuel to the bowl to flow upwardly in the space between the bowl and cone and to pass outwardly through the annular orifice as a fuel vapor, a ring disposed above said bowl and cone in spaced relation thereto and spanning the annular orifice throughout its circumference, a flue disposed above said ring whereby a draft will be created inwardly beneath the ring and across the annular fuel orifice and upwardly through the ring, and a plurality of teeth arranged in equal spaced relation to each other and dependent from the under face of the ring and projecting below the upper edge of the bowl, said teeth extending radially across the annular orifice and spaced a distance thereabove, the teeth having appreciable width whereby the infiowing draft of air will be divided into a plurality of inwardly and radially moving air streams separated by relatively dead air spaces occurring between the streams of air and adjacent the inner ends of the teeth.

2. A retort burner comprising a bowl, a member telescoping thereinto and spaced therefrom to form an annular orifice at the mouth of the bowl, means for delivering liquid fuel to the bowl to flow upwardly in the space between the bowl and the telescoping member, an outwardly and upwardly fiaring flange formed around the mouth of the bowl from the plane of the annular orifice, a downwardly and inwardly inclined ring spaced from the lip of said flange and lying parallel thereto to form an annular inlet throat, a flue member mounted upon the top of said ring to create a draft inwardly through the throat and upwardly through the flue, and a toothed ring carried by the last named ring and extending downwardly and inwardly beyond the inner lip of the inclined ring, said toothed ring being formed with a plurality of downwardly projecting teeth equally spaced from the end face of' said ring and extending radially across the annular orifice and thereabove, said teeth providing passageways between them along which a proportion of the air from the annular air inlet may be conducted across the annular fuel orifice from the area exterior of said orifice to an area interior of said a downwardly and inwardly inclined ring spaced from the lip of said flange and lying substantially parallel thereto to form an annular inlet throat across the annular orifice, a flue member mounted upon the top of said ring'to create a draft inwardly through the throat and upwardly through the flue, and a plurality of teeth supported by the ring and arranged in spaced relation to each other circumferentially of said ring, said teeth projecting downwardly into the throat and radially thereof and having inner ends of appreciable width occurring within the area circumscribed by the orifice whereby the air flowing inwardly through the throat will pass around the opposite sides of the teeth to divide the infiowing air current into a plurality of inwardly and radially moving air streams separated by relatively dead air spaces occurring between the streams of air and adjacent to said inner ends of the teeth.

THOMAS w. HUNTER; 

